Thursday, June 21, 2012

In New Brunswick advocates of extreme, everyone in the classroom, inclusion like to describe my son's accommodations as "segration" as though it could be equated with the racially segregated schools of the old American south. Conor in fact attends a neighborhood school and has ample opportunity to mix with other students, both challenged students in his High School Resource Centre and throughout Leo Hayes High School. He is well liked and has friends in both the Resource Centre and in the rest of the school. I have often, and I am mean often, seen kids approach Conor with big smiles and greet him. His instruction, his ABA based instruction, is received in a separate quieter area and he absolutely loves going to school. Anyone who has worked with Conor in his high school or previously in middle or grade school can confirm these facts.

Conor does not receive a "segregated" schooling to use the pejorative terminology of NB's very influential full inclusion activists in the CACL and NBACL. He receives an evidence based, flexible, inclusive education that accommodates his serious autistic disorder and developmental delay hallenges. Conor loves school. When school ends each year it is a difficult time for him.

Summer heat and humidity can cause problems too but we do get outdoors, a lot, in Fredericton, the green city, which we both love and it helps a lot. The last couple of days we have done some bridge walking to Fredericton's south side for fresh air, exercise and of course ... treats. (Conor has a new "walking" shirt, one of Dad's old loose fitting shirts to go over his T-shirts).

Conor would like to see September arrive quickly, and resume the "segregated" education that Conor loves and some misguided adults demean, but he and his ol' Dad will enjoy the summer in Fredericton, this very habitable green city.

Connor deserves year round schooling based on his unique and individual needs. There is no reason he has to wait for September. I hope Canada recognizes the needs of severely autistic individuals who require year round services, based on their need for a highly structured routine. A routine that shouldn't be broken when traditional schooling ends. Clearly, there are enough funds, though getting those funds are always a challenge, due to political moves that divert funds into areas that are not meeting the needs of our most vulnerable citizens both in America and Canada. Perhaps legislators don't realize that most parents of autistic children and adults are very intelligent capable parents who depend on these year round services so they themselves can get respite and breaks to rejuvenate themselves and be productive members of society.

101 Noteworthy Sites on Asperger's & Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Why ABA For Autism?

The effectiveness of ABA-based intervention in ASDs has been well documented through 5 decades of research by using single-subject methodology21,25,27,28 and in controlled studies of comprehensive early intensive behavioral intervention programs in university and community settings.29–40 Children who receive early intensive behavioral treatment have been shown to make substantial, sustained gains in IQ, language, academic performance, and adaptive behavior as well as some measures of social behavior, and their outcomes have been significantly better than those of children in control groups.31–4American Academy of Pediatrics, Management of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

"We have to look also at environmental factors, and from my point of view, the interaction between the genetic factors and the environmental factors ... It looks like some shared environmental factors play a role in autism, and the study really points toward factors that are early in life that affect the development of the child"
Joachim Hallmayer, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at Stanford University in California

Even Out Environmental and Genetic Autism Research Funding

Right now, about 10 to 20 times more research dollars are spent on studies of the genetic causes of autism than on environmental ones.

We need to even out the funding.

Irva Hertz-Picciotto, UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Researcher

My Autism Pledge For Conor

Today I pledge to continue;I Pledge to continue to fight for the availability of effective autism treatments;I Pledge to continue to fight for a real education for autistic children;I Pledge to continue to fight for decent residential care for autistic adults;I Pledge to continue to fight for a cure for autism;I Pledge to continue finding joy in my son but not in the autism disorder that restricts his life;Today, and every day, I Pledge to continue to hope for a better life for Conor and others with autism, through accommodation, care, respect, treatment, and some day, a cure;Today, and every day, I Pledge to continue to fight for the best possible life for Conor, my son with autistic disorder.

Dr. Jon Poling : Blinders Won’t Reduce Autism

"Fortunately, the ‘better diagnosis’ myth has been soundly debunked. ... only a smaller percentage of this staggering rise can be explained by means other than a true increase.

Because purely genetic diseases do not rise precipitously, the corollary to a true autism increase is clear — genes only load the gun and it is the environment that pulls the trigger. Autism is best redefined as an environmental disease with genetic susceptibilities."

We should be investing our research dollars into discovering environmental factors that we can change, not more poorly targeted genetic studies that offer no hope of early intervention. Pesticides, mercury, aluminum, several drugs, dietary factors, infectious agents and yes — vaccines — are all in the research agenda.

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It's NOT About ME

I am the father of two sons one of whom is severely autistic with intellectual disability. I have advocated for autism services for autistic children, students and adults in New Brunswick, Canada and I blog and comment about autism on the world wide web. And I like to walk .. a lot.